Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2010

Twenty Questions and Answers About the Ozone Layer: 2010 Update

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Introduction

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1. OZONE IN OUR ATMOSPHERE
1. What is ozone and where is it in the atmosphere?
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2. How is ozone formed in the atmosphere?
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3. Why do we care about atmospheric ozone?
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4. How is total ozone uniform over the globe?
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5. How is ozone measured in the atmosphere?
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2. THE OZONE DEPLETION PROCESS
6. What are the principal steps in stratospheric ozone depletion caused by human activities?
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7. What emissions from human activities lead to ozone depletion?
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8. What are the reactive halogen gases that destroy stratospheric ozone?
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9. What are the chlorine and bromine reactions that destroy stratospheric ozone?
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10. Why has an "ozone hole" appeared over Antarctica when ozone-depleting substances are present throughout the stratosphere?
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3. STRATOSPHERIC OZONE DEPLETION
11. How severe is the depletion of the Antarctic ozone layer?
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12. Is there depletion of the Arctic ozone layer?
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13. How large is the depletion of the global ozone layer?
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14. Do changes in the Sun and volcanic eruptions affect the ozone layer?
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4. CONTROLLING OZONE-DEPLETING SUBSTANCES
15. Are there controls on the production of ozone-depleting substances?
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16. Has the Montreal Protocol been successful in reducing ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere?
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5. IMPLICATIONS OF OZONE DEPLETION
17. Does depletion of the ozone layer increase ground-level ultraviolet radiation?
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18. Is depletion of the ozone layer the principal cause of climate change?
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19. Have reductions of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol also protected Earth's climate?
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6. STRATOSPHERIC OZONE IN THE FUTURE
20. How is ozone expected to change in the coming decades?
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Additional Topics

• Global Ozone Network - end of Question 5
• Understanding Stratospheric Ozone Depletion - end of Question 6
• Heavier-Than-Air CFCs - end of Question 7
• Replacing Lost Ozone in the Stratosphere - end of Question 9
• The Discovery of the Antarctic Ozone Hole - end of Question 10
• The 2002 Antarctic Ozone Hole - end of Question 11